MISHAWAKA, Ind. — Sydney Stein posted a double-double and Carley O'Neal tied her career-high scoring total as the Goshen College women's basketball team dropped a 73-70 decision to Bethel College in the Wiekamp Center on Wednesday evening.

Stein finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds while O'Neal scored 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting for the Maple Leafs (1-24, 0-13 Crossroads League). Claire Rauck added 11 points off the bench thanks to three 3-pointers, Hanna Hochstetler also matched her career high with six points and Keyaira Murff chipped in eight rebounds.

Kelsey Brickner led all scorers with 19 points for the Pilots (7-18, 2-11), beating out Kamala Glenn's 17 and Jessica Erwin's 16. Brickner and Glenn were two of four Bethel players to lead the team with six rebounds apiece while Tahya Bruce led all players with five assists.

Each team struggled to get untracked, combining for three field goals in the first five minutes as Goshen took an early 6-2 lead. Bethel finished the quarter with 10 points in the last three minutes for a 15-10 lead behind nine points from Brickner.

Stein scored the first three points of the second stanza, with the Maple Leafs closing back within two points at 17-15 before back-to-back Glenn scores sparked a 9-2 Pilot run. Rauck scored six points in the quarter before Bethel led 31-23 at the intermission.

Goshen went into the locker room shooting 8-for-28 (28.6 percent) from the floor and 2-for-10 from long range; Bethel was 12-for-28 (42.9 percent) and 4-for-13 (30.8 percent) respectively. The third quarter was another story as each team scored 26 points and combined to shoot 60 percent.

The Pilots pushed their lead to 13 with seven of the first nine points before Stein, O'Neal and Haley Archibeque put together an 8-2 run over 90 seconds in the middle of the quarter. The Maple Leafs got three points on three of their next four trips, closing the score within five points, before going quiet from the floor for the next minute and 40 seconds. That was the time Bethel needed to score eight more points, stretching the edge back to double figures, and lead 57-49 after three periods.

Bethel's lead was 13 points as late as the 6:00 mark before back-to-back Hochstetler scores started an 8-2 GC spurt that pulled the guests back within 67-60. Despite going 0-for-5 from the floor with two turnovers during a scoring drought, the Pilots burned enough clock for the second of two Glenn baskets to put them up 71-62 with just 87 seconds left.

Goshen's good fortune got the team a 5-1 run after two Pilot turnovers with Erwin sinking one of two shots at the line with 20 seconds to play, but that only served to run the clock to 11 seconds left in a two-possession game. Mariah Roe fouled and Erwin made one shot, again, with seven seconds left; by the time Goshen got the ball up the floor, Roe's 3-pointer to cut the lead to 73-70 became the final play of the game.

Each team finished with 36 rebounds while the two sides combined for 36 fouls and 39 turnovers. Both teams got 20 free throws, with Goshen converting 12 and Bethel 15. The Maple Leafs came out ahead on a percentage basis from beyond the arc: Goshen was 8-for-18 (44.4 percent) and Bethel 8-for-27 (29.6 percent).

The loss, coupled with Spring Arbor's upset win at Mount Vernon Nazarene, did Goshen no favors in its quest for the Crossroads League tournament: the Maple Leafs now trail SAU for the final spot by three games with five to play. A short-term silver lining for GC will come when Spring Arbor takes on two-time defending conference champion Marian on Saturday.

The Maple Leafs return home Saturday to start a two-game homestand; before seventh-place Mount Vernon Nazarene visits Wednesday, Saint Francis comes to town for a weekend doubleheader. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m., with the men's game between the two schools set for 3.